Tools

Thirtysomething car rental agent John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) still lives with his childhood BFF, an animatronic plush toy named Ted, now a profane, pot-smoking, boorish bear with a bent for broads and bongs. Ted is about a man who can't bring himself to let go of childish things, made by a filmmaker gripped by the same affliction. Writer-director Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) litters this caustic comedy with his trademark non sequiturs and pop culture references (often occupying the same quip). He venerates Airplane, T.J. Hooker, Octopussy and the Dino De Laurentiis film production of Flash Gordon, while working in jabs at Justin Beiber, Katy Perry, Taylor Lautner, 1990s rock and Superman Returns. While I laughed along with MacFarlane's indulgences in Gen X-themed frivolity, Ted still suffers from a sluggish narrative, along with the sort of race- and sex-baiting gags you'd typically find in an Adam Sandler cinematic merde.
ByNeil Morris